All posts tagged: Durham County Jail

NCDHHS still silent on lockdown at Durham County Jail

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By Monica Chen The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services released its new inspection report on Durham County Jail on Thursday. The report is three months late, and still does not mention the ongoing COVID lockdown in place at the jail. Instead, it scolds the Durham County Sheriff’s Office for minor problems — such as graffiti. “All cells throughout the facility had graffiti onthe walls and ceilings,” the new report stated. “This inspection found deficiencies whereby corrections are required,” Charles Brown, the DHHS inspector, wrote to Sheriff Clarence Birkhead, and required a plan to correct the problems to be submitted to DHHS by June 7. That’s a change from NCDHHS’ last report on the jail in September, when it found “no deficiencies.” The agency conducts inspections of all county jails in the state on a semi-annual basis. Activists in Durham have been sounding the alarm since December on the lockdown at the jail, which has resulted in inmates being held in conditions equal to solitary confinement for the past three years. Marcia Owen and …

Blog post: NCDHHS late with new report on Durham jail. Why?

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By Monica Chen The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services conducts semi-annual inspections of all county jails in North Carolina. That means the newest inspection report for Durham County Jail, which was last inspected in September, was due in March. It’s now May. Where is it? In April, Sara Maleski, a paralegal at DHHS, sent me the September report. On the newest inspection, she wrote: “An inspection was just conducted but is not yet complete.” OK. That was almost a month ago. How long does it take to finish a report? “The semiannual surveys are unannounced,” said spokeswoman Summer Tonizzo last week when I checked back. You don’t say. But, wasn’t the inspection already conducted and we’re just waiting on the report? What’s the hold up? To give readers an idea of how simple these reports are, this was all the substance the September report had: “This inspection found no deficiencies, no corrective action is necessary, and no further action on your part is required.” The Durham County Jail has been in COVID lockdown, …

The ACLU’s silence on NCDHHS and the Durham jail lockdown speaks volumes

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By Monica Chen The ACLU of North Carolina recently refused to condemn, or even comment, on the state health department’s inspection report of the Durham County Jail that showed the NCDHHS couldn’t care less that it’s in an illegal COVID lockdown keeping all inmates in solitary confinement. Instead, the director of the organization, Chantal Stevens, opted to give a canned response on solitary confinement and staffing problems at the jail. And the spokeswoman, Keisha Williams, amazingly said, “We do not have any additional information or comments to provide at this time, as this is not an issue we are actively work on.” That is incredible because the ACLU-NC has been using incarcerated people’s plight for their marketing for years. But when it comes to an immediate problem of hundreds of inmates stuck in solitary confinement and clear signs of corruption at the state level that’s keeping them there, the ACLU cannot be bothered. To sum up what’s been happening at the Durham County Jail, Sheriff Clarence Birkhead continued the COVID lockdown there even after local …

NCDHHS report found “No deficiencies” amid Durham jail lockdown

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By Monica Chen The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services found “no deficiencies” at the Durham County Jail in September even though the jail was continuing a COVID lockdown after mandates were lifted statewide. The Division of Health Service Regulation’s inspection report of the Durham jail, mailed to Sheriff Clarence Birkhead on Sept. 28, stated: “This inspection found no deficiencies, no corrective actions is necessary, and no further action on your part is required.” That division of the NCDHHS conducts semi-annual inspections of county jails. Gov. Roy Cooper ended the statewide COVID emergency in August. Durham ended its mask mandate in March. Because of the continued COVID lockdown, all inmates at the Durham jail are being held in conditions equal to solitary confinement. For some of the inmates who were incarcerated on or before March 2020, that means their solitary confinement has lasted now three years. When reached for comment recently, DHHS spokeswoman Kelly Haight would not say if the agency was aware of the COVID lockdown at the Durham jail. “NCDHHS was not …

Durham Health on jail lockdown: “The health department does not mandate COVID-19 safety protocols”

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By Monica Chen Durham County Department of Public Health is refusing to decry the continued lockdown at the Durham County Jail that has resulted in inmates being held in solitude confinement for three years. When reached for comment, spokeswoman Alecia Smith brushed off the department’s responsibility for COVID lockdown mandates for all of Durham County. “The Health Department does not mandate COVID-19 safety protocols for other agencies or departments,” she said in one e-mail. The Spring Magazine had asked during the week of March 20 if the department was aware of the jail lockdown continuing despite local and state mandates ending last year. We also asked if they have helped the Durham County Sheriff’s Office implement it, and if they had a reaction to inmates being held in what equates to solitary confinement. In response to those questions, Smith first said: “The Durham County Sheriff’s Office and Durham County Detention Facility set COVID-19 safety protocols are determined internally, and not by the Durham County Department of Public Health. For more information about DCSO and Detention …

Sheriff’s 180: No lockdown at jail, claims spokeswoman

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By Monica Chen The Sheriff’s Office claimed last week there is no lockdown at the Durham County Jail, and there is no solitary confinement. That’s contrary to Sheriff Clarence Birkhead and spokeswoman AnnMarie Breen’s previous statements to the media since January, when news of the jail’s conditions broke. After numerous attempts to reach the Sheriff’s Office for comment over the past two weeks, Breen responded last Wednesday over e-mail: “You are misinformed. The facility is not now nor has it ever been on ‘COVID lockdown.’ Additionally, the Durham County Detention Facility does not utilize ‘solitary confinement’ as that is a form of punishment. I believe that you are referring to the fact that at our current occupancy each detainee is assigned a private cell and does not have to share,” she said. “As COVID cases develop at the facility, procedures are in place that help prevent the spread of the virus. This changes day to day and does not typically impact the entire facility,” she added. When it was pointed out to her that Sheriff Birkhead has …

What’s going on at the Durham County Jail?

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By Monica Chen The Durham County Sheriff’s Office is still using COVID lockdown protocols at the jail, and activists are sounding the alarm about the conditions amounting to solitary confinement for the hundreds of inmates. In fact, for some of the inmates at the Durham County Jail who were incarcerated on or before March 2020, that means their solitary confinement has lasted now three years. Activists Marcia Owen and Andrea “Muffin” Hudson sent an open letter in December to local officials, including Sheriff Clarence Birkhead, District Attorney Satana Deberry, Chief District Court Judge Clayton Jones and Police Chief Patrice Andrews. They called for the urgent need to alleviate conditions at the jail. The letter has been signed by hundreds of people and organizations. Owen and Hudson also have met with Birkhead and others to discuss their concerns. “Muffin and I understand from our meeting with the sheriff on Nov. 16 that the jail has sustained the 21-23 [hours] alone in cell for every incarcerated person since late March 2020,” Owen said in an e-mail this …